Should Roeselare drop my gravity?

I have a flanders red that's been sitting in a bucket with roeselare for 5 months - it's getting good and sour, and has a big nasty pellicle, but the gravity is steady at 1.011 - I was under the impression that the brett in the R. blend should be chewing this down to close to 1.000. Am I mistaken?

It's probably going to be pretty good if it stays there. Rodenbach does have quite a bit of body left.

I'd have to check my notes on other PC, but I think my last beer w/ 3763 maybe dropped from 1.014 to 1.008. It wasn't a big drop, yet it got plenty sour, tart and good complexity.

The presence of a pellicle is an indication that brett is active, so you don't have to worry...the bugs/yeast are there.

5 months is still young, so you would be best to let it go for at least another 5 and check/taste it again. Serve it when it tastes good, don't worry about gravity.

My experience, and the experience of brewing friends, is that our sour beers haven't made big drops in secondary. (They don't finish @ 1.001)

I have a roselare flemish red 7 months old and hanging out around 1.008. I don't think it's going to drop any further, even though I mashed at 148.

Just curious as to why you used buckets. I have a lambic in buckets and after 12 months it's ridiculously sour with overtones of vinegar. I feel like the bucket let the beer breathe too much. It's my only sour ale ever done in a bucket, and I won't do it again.

For a lambic, you are looking at about 2 years or so for it to 'fully' develop. I haven't used the Roselare strain but have used Wyeast 3278 and let it go for quite a long time to mature. Take your time with a Lambic and you will be rewarded.

As for aging a Lambic, I think it should only be done in glass. I have made a few Lambic's over the years and only age in glass.

It should, in theory drop the gravity, but how much is dependent on how much brett food was left in the beer when you added the roselare. Even though the brett can break down the more complex sugars, that regular sacc cannot, it cannot eat all forms of sugar. Assuming your beer went into the secondary at 1011, I would think you have some activity in there, but it may take time. Also, like sacc, brett has optimal ferment temps so it could just be that it is too cool for it to do its thing, or you need to wait a little more.

In short, your primary strain may have eatean more of the sugar than you thought it would, or you need to give it more time. I doubt it will get to 1.000.